#370 Wee In a Cup
That's Australian for Pee
Allison is the mother of a young type 1 and she's brought a few diabetes topics to talk about.
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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.
Scott Benner 0:02
Hello and welcome to Episode 370 of the Juicebox Podcast. Today's episode is with Tiff and TIFF is from Australia. Tiff has so much what I call good energy. It may actually be more than a person is allowed to have inside of them. But she has trouble holding it all in a lot of it comes out while she's while she's talking, which was just 100% delightful. This was one of those conversations where because of the timezone change, I think it was the middle of the night while TIFF was recording and I was early in the morning. It's I don't know how to describe it exactly. But she's terrific. And this episode is a massive amount of fun. Her accent if you aren't from Australia, it'll take a few minutes, but you'll settle into it and start hearing her really well. I mean, you got used to my accent. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. or becoming bold with insulin. I don't think there's much left to say except maybe perhaps Gird your loins. This is TIFF.
Tiffany 1:26
I wrote these things to you and I never actually remember what I wrote because I'm sure I just write about going on a trip to Europe in America, but I just talk about, I didn't know what I was that I was going to talk about.
Scott Benner 1:38
So Tiffany, I'm not gonna answer you until after you introduce yourself. Go ahead.
Tiffany 1:43
Okay.
No worries.
Scott Benner 1:48
This episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by Omni pod makers of the tubeless insulin pump that my daughter has been wearing, since she was four years old. And by the dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor, find out more about the dexcom G six@dexcom.com forward slash juice box. And you can get a free no obligation demo of the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump sent right to your home by going to my Omni pod.com forward slash juice box. Would you like to help support Type One Diabetes Research and support the podcast at the same time? Well, the T one D exchange is looking for you if you're a United States citizen and have type one diabetes, or the parent of a child who is a United States citizen who has type one diabetes, go to T one d exchange.org. Ford slash juice box. I just did this the other day It took about seven minutes, I answered some fairly basic questions about Arden's type one diabetes. And now her information is being used to make advancements and improvements for people with type one. This is completely anonymous, 100% HIPAA compliant, and 1,000,000%. A great thing to do. T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox. Add your voice
Tiffany 3:13
on key on in Australia. I live in wangaratta. And I will I've got type one diabetes. But that's not all of me. I'm also a parent.
Scott Benner 3:23
Oh, very nice. How many kids?
Unknown Speaker 3:25
I've got two children.
Unknown Speaker 3:27
They're two and three. You're just getting started Good for you.
Scott Benner 3:31
I allowed their father to stay in the home. We're all together. You didn't tell us yet?
Unknown Speaker 3:37
Yeah, yeah, he's still there. Yeah.
Scott Benner 3:41
Well, he's on a short leash, let's just say that. I'm sure he'll do something incredibly wrong soon, you'll be very angry with him. But now.
Tiffany 3:50
daily, daily,
Scott Benner 3:51
daily, right. So tip, I'm going to I'm going to totally leave in what you said before you introduce yourself because because of our geography, and it is, you know, 10am where I'm at and midnight, where you are, it's been difficult, obviously, to get to get something set up. And more so than just the geography of us getting our timezone straight enough to make this recording. You and I have like going back and forth a number of times. And you know, like almost had it happen. It was supposed to be yesterday you It was so great. You sent me you sent me a message yesterday, you're like, is this happening in an hour or tomorrow? And I was like, well, it's supposed to happen in an hour. But if I'm being honest, I don't feel great. And if you want to do it tomorrow, we can do it tomorrow. So we're doing it today. So my point is, is we've gone back and forth a number of times. And then the first thing you said is I forget why I said I wanted to be on the podcast. And what I was going to tell you is that I forget why you're coming. Because it's gone back and forth. So many thoughts. So why don't we just pretend you're on because you have diabetes, and then we'll figure the rest of it out that sound okay. Yeah. So we'll dig down. You know, we'll start by by doing this. So, how old are you right now?
Tiffany 5:00
I'm, well actually it's my birthday. It was 15 minutes ago.
Scott Benner 5:06
petitions.
Unknown Speaker 5:08
I'm now 39 Happy birthday.
Tiffany 5:11
Yeah. Nearly 40 Oh my god. Thank you very much. Absolutely.
Scott Benner 5:16
That's exciting. It really is. So you're it's your birthday, you turned 39 years old. But how old? were you when you were diagnosed with type one?
Tiffany 5:24
I was 11. It was in. I think it was July. It was a diet. It was Earth Day in July. So I mean, if there's a day if it's I don't know if national thing or for the International thing. I've heard of it. Okay, yeah.
Scott Benner 5:40
So 2131 then we're gonna go 3230 330-435-3637 just 33. So 1828 28 years sounds like 28 years, right?
Tiffany 5:50
That's right. Yep. All right.
Scott Benner 5:52
And that that math works in Australia or in America or anywhere?
Tiffany 5:57
I think matters are pretty much the same a worldwide isn't it?
Scott Benner 6:01
I've heard it's pretty universal. Yeah. I mean, I haven't been everywhere at TIFF, but my understanding is that two plus two pretty much equals four everywhere. So 11 years old in Australia. You're outside, you're writing a wallaby. Your mom calls you what happens next?
Tiffany 6:21
Yeah, so, um, I was at school, I was probably that probably took about two weeks for it to develop. And we don't have Wallabies running around the Main Street. It's nothing like that. Although I did go to school in a very small town called queenscliff, which is on the coast of Victoria, down the bottom of Australia. And it was sorry, my cats running around. And, and I'd been drinking heaps and heaps of water. Like I hate water. Back when I was a kid. If you gave me what I'd be like, Hell, no, I want coke or cardio or orange juice. And so mom knew something was up because I was drinking water. And I hate water. And I was drinking an entire bottle of water for school that I was drinking an entire bottle of water before lunch at school. And I drink a whole whole bottle at lunchtime. And then I come as soon as I finish school, I'd go back to my Nana's house because my mom worked full time. Right. And on I would drink another entire bottle of water at my grandma's house. Yeah, and I guess I'd go to the toilet numerous times during the night.
Scott Benner 7:35
And it went on for about two weeks, weeks. And so I just want to before we move forward after the water drinking, I want to say that when your cat ran around just now if you would have just said Oh, I'm so sorry. My pet wallaby took my attention away. I really would have been delighted but that's okay. It's not. It's not up to you to make the comedy. So anyway, we so so okay, a ton of water drinking not normal for you. And that was enough to make your mom go. Something's wrong with her.
Tiffany 8:04
Yeah, but he had to wait till Friday because he wanted a long weekend and he didn't want to get time or have to have time off work. And he absolutely had to.
Scott Benner 8:11
Oh, okay.
Tiffany 8:13
He waited till Friday.
Scott Benner 8:15
to like, Look, there's something really wrong with her. But we cannot deal with it on a Wednesday. I just like you need to Did anyone pull you aside and grabbed me by the shoulders a good tip. Listen, honey, you need to not die until Friday when we can go to the doctor. And this wasn't because the doctor is on some Safari truck from your house. It's just that your parents fans just wanted to get to the weekend make it easier. I understand this.
Tiffany 8:39
Yeah. Cuz you know, you'd rather dealing with a problem on Friday and then have the weekend to deal with it as well. If in case it's a sickness, and then go to work on Monday and everything, everyone's all good.
Scott Benner 8:48
I like it. So So our plan is is to manage is to diagnose, treat, learn to manage and get back to life in about 72 hours. I like the I like the upside of this, but it's very, it's an energetic idea for you. They're like, we can get this done. So she you're off to the doctor, is it just as easy as like, hey, I've been drinking a lot of water and they say you have diabetes? Or how does that process go? Do you remember? Yeah.
Tiffany 9:14
So yeah, it was 1991. And I do quite distinctly remember because my mom would always be like, you're going to have to go to the toilet before we leave the house. So I went to the toilet. And we go to the doctors and I was pretty much we sat down didn't I don't even remember. I think I sat down. I just went straight into the doctor's room. And he said, Okay, I know you do away in a cup. And I said I just went to the toilet because my mom tells me I've got to and she says okay, well I've got this little machine here. She says, I've got to take some blood. Just put your finger out and I'm just like, okay, no worries. And that was my first blood test.
Scott Benner 9:49
Yeah. Well, and you've named the episode Wait a cup. So you're all set. I really, you guys do all the work. It's true. So he a little finger stick you You remember what you were? Do you remember the feeling in the room when it happened?
Tiffany 10:03
I was just sitting there going, what the hell? You know, maybe they got to do this so that they can see what's wrong with me, you know. And I can go back to I can go back to school because I was ready for school because it was birthday. And I had my beautiful picture that I'd drawn during the week that I wanted to take to school and display and show everyone I was dressed in green. Because it was, you know, this is gonna just be like, this will be over by 930 and I'll be at school, but can it all be good?
Scott Benner 10:32
Because in so in your life at this point, the only real like thing that's going on for you, it's just the, like, an incessant thirst. There's nothing else happening that's got you feel I don't feel well.
Tiffany 10:43
nigh and like, I mean, I've lost weight. But like, my dad tells me now that I had gone. Like I look like, I look very, very skinny and my little my face, he could feel the bones in my face. Um, which wasn't normal for me because I was chubby kid. I put
the weight back on straightaway after I got diagnosed anyway, but you know,
Scott Benner 11:04
listen, I just looked at myself in a reflection. I thought there are bones in your face. How would I even be able to tell that under my chin or my cheeks? No. So you were pretty gone. And it's funny. He he knew. It's funny, because I didn't know when I looked at Arden until until she put a couple of pounds back on. And then I looked at a picture from the week before and thought, Wow, how did I not recognize that? You know?
Tiffany 11:28
Yeah, yeah. Well, my mom, for the wife of her would never find anything like that, because my mom was too busy dealing with everything else.
Scott Benner 11:38
So she's just a busy. Do you have other siblings?
Tiffany 11:41
I've got one brother who's five years older than me.
Scott Benner 11:45
And he kept her busy.
Tiffany 11:48
Yeah, and he like key worked. So he was always he worked full time. My dad worked full time. My dad was an interstate truck driver. So I was basically, I'd go to work with my mom in the morning. And I'd go to school. And I'd say, Mom before I went to school, and then I'd see mom, when she picked me up after work, we'd go home had dinner, and I'd go to bed. So I saw my mom probably, I don't know, four or five, four hours a day.
Scott Benner 12:14
Your parents weren't looking for other stuff to do is what you're telling me?
Tiffany 12:17
No, I
Scott Benner 12:19
was busy enough. Right? So
Tiffany 12:21
yeah, that would kind of get in life.
Scott Benner 12:24
I understand. You start out 91 I'm assuming they gave you just was it needles or pens? or How did you start?
Tiffany 12:32
It was just um, just pin so No, it wasn't. It was in there. We had damn syringes. Okay, back then, and the big, lovely enqueuing vials. And to learn how to draw the intent out of the vial, so I could have my injections.
Scott Benner 12:50
So you're starting, you're starting at just at go, right? There's no, you have no knowledge about diabetes whatsoever. And so you're starting with just here's how you get out of the vial. Now you're gonna stick into your arm, you know, or your belly or wherever you're gonna put this did your parents become involved in, like the process of day to day management? Or was it pretty much on you right away?
Tiffany 13:12
Um, my mother. She was in shock. He didn't understand she did not like she couldn't deal with it. And so I went straight to hospital because as soon as the doctor took my reading, I think it was in the 30s. Like, in Australia, we use a different measurement as well.
So I was 32.5
millimeters per mega later or something. And he's desolated. So your measurement for lack, I think it might be about 500. I'd like
Scott Benner 13:45
to get my my graph up right now for this conversation. I have one that I like to use in this situation here. Let's see. But so you were you were plenty high enough. But but you really only saw the the thirst for a couple of weeks. Right?
Tiffany 14:03
Yeah, yeah, it happened pretty quickly. It wasn't something that
was going for months and months and months. Like some people.
Scott Benner 14:11
Yeah, yeah. Did you need insulin right away? Or was it were you in a honeymoon situation where it was kind of like, sometimes you needed it? Sometimes you didn't?
Tiffany 14:22
It was straightaway. I went from from going to into like, I couldn't not have insulin. Okay.
Scott Benner 14:30
Okay. Yeah. Okay. It's funny, because I talked to some people now who find it so early. You don't mean like so early? Yeah. They can't even use insulin properly for a while because even having any kind of basal insulin running ends up being too much. Central.
Unknown Speaker 14:45
Yeah.
Tiffany 14:49
I'm back in 1991. I don't think they even had the testing. I do remember at some point black I must have been in high school and my parents went and had their very first blood test to see Am I brah I should also mention my brother isn't my brother. He's actually adopted. So we are blood relatives, but we're not actually brother and sister. So I do refer to him a lot. And I grew up with him in the same house. calling my mom and dad mom and dad, but they just blood relative but but just blood. Not mom and dad, by parent teacher.
Scott Benner 15:27
All right, hold on. You got me on that one. I'm going to start over. So you have a mom and a dad in the house. Dad's a truck driver. Mom's there. Both of those people made you your dad. Yes. Okay. And then the your brother who was five years older than you? Was he a half brother from your father from your mother? nor my not at all? No. He's my mom's sister's fan. Mom's sister's son took him in by the dogs. Yes.
Tiffany 15:52
Yeah, essentially.
Scott Benner 15:56
Yeah. And he's still and he's a blood relatives still because he's your mom's sister son. Yeah. Okay. Thank God, we went through that, because your initial Expo explanation made me think that you had that that cat had had module and you were you're a rabbit at this point. And you didn't know what you were saying? Because you were like, he's my brother. But he's not my brother. But he's blood related. I was like, hold on a second. That doesn't make any sense. But I
Tiffany 16:21
found it to be interesting situation. But I I grew up knowing that he was my brother because he's my mom, mom, mom and dad, but he's also my cousin. So I like his brothers and sisters would visit us. But they the heath brothers and sisters. They're not mine. Because he's my cousin. But he's my brother because we grew up together. We got he was there before I was born. He was like the first. Yeah, he froze. Yeah, he's
Scott Benner 16:50
such a big smile on my face, because there's a part of me that wants to take those last 20 words and make them the title of the episode. But that won't happen. Don't worry, but I completely. Tiff. Oddly, I completely agree. I understand exactly what you're saying. And please keep in mind, it's late at night for TIFF. Okay, so. Okay, so you grew up having a brotherly sisterly feeling towards him because he was there. I have to ask, even though I almost I'm upset at myself for wanting to continue with us. But why did he live with you, but his other brothers and sisters remained back with his parents?
Tiffany 17:25
Um, well, he's mom was very young when Chad and so he had one son first. And he was I think 15 or so. And my grandfather made her give him up. And they've only just been reunited last year. So that was that he's net 45. And Mike, then she had my brother. And her partner at the time, was then killed tragically in a fire. I think I think that was the he's dead, hot. And I they've all got different dads. Anyway, something happened to him. And he wasn't led to keep him either, because my grandfather wouldn't let her and she wanted to have a life because she was she wasn't even 20. So she just went, you know,
Scott Benner 18:08
there's part of me that doesn't even want to talk about diabetes anymore. It's it's fascinating. Do you have any idea what kind of fire was in the home? Or was he a firefighter?
Tiffany 18:18
It was not within the home he had. He was fica. He was fica and he the fleet smoking? Tiffany?
Scott Benner 18:27
How many do you have? Like, do we even need to talk about the diabetes? Do you have like 1000 other great stories? Is this an Australian thing? I need to know the problem? Let's see you get caught on that like that. He got water all around you. It must make you a little crazy at some point. Like you know, because really, without a plane, you're stuck there. You can't try from Australia. Okay, how do you how did you find growing up with diabetes? Was it something that bothered you? Or were you pretty just kind of chill about it? What was your overall, you know, 11 to graduating from high school kind of experience. Okay, let's just take a quick break. Tiff has got like I said a ton of good energy and she has not yet begun to talk. So just need a second here. Right? Well, we'll collect ourselves and get ready to keep going. While we do that, let's talk about what I consider to be the gold standard of Type One Diabetes Care, dex calm, g six continuous glucose monitor and the Omni pod to boost insulin pump. Let's start with the Omni pod because it's easy. It's an insulin pump. It's tubeless it's small and compact, easy to hide below your clothing or you can wear out and let everybody see it if you want to. It's completely flexible. And flexibility is what you need when you're managing type one. You're going to have the flexibility to bave without Taking off your pump to swim to play sports with other people, if they ever let us do that, again, to go outside for a run to do everything that everyone does in life, except you get to do it without being connected to a bunch of tubing or having to take off your pump and watch your blood sugar shoot up because you don't have insulin. You just get to keep the Omni pod on. It's small, it's tubeless. It's easy. And they'll send you a free, no obligation demo. So you don't even have to take my word for it, you can try for yourself. My omnipod.com forward slash juice box, take you a couple of seconds to put in the information they need. And by they I mean on the pod and they'll send you off right in the mail and get you going with that free no obligation demo. It's well worth your time. Now the Dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. This is another thing that I don't know how I don't know what I'd be doing without it. showing my daughter's blood sugar, speed and direction without a finger stick. That in itself is just stunning. Arden's sleeping right now it's early in the morning. Let me tell you something right now, her blood sugar is 101. As a matter of fact, I'm helping a young man named Joe right now and Joe's blood sugar's 111 and Arden's friend biani, her blood sugar 70, I can see all of that on my cell phone, right here holding it in my iPhone, if I had an Android, I could do the same thing. And you could as well, you could see the direction and speed of a loved one's blood sugar on your device. More importantly, you could share that information with up to 10 people say you're the one wearing it. And adult with Type One Diabetes, you just want. I don't know your partner to know that's doable as well. This thing is going to give you alerts and alarms that you get to decide on to let you know when your blood sugar's leaving the range that you've set ardens ranges from 70 to 120. She never gets too low or too high without us knowing that it's happening so that we can make good well considered decisions about insulin and carbohydrates to keep her from bouncing all over the place. So sure the Dexcom is great for safety and sure to wake you up in the middle of the night if you get low. But there's so much more than a little do. Find out more about those things@dexcom.com forward slash juice box. While you're there, go to my omnipod.com forward slash juice box. Get yourself a demo pod. And just why don't you just make it a trifecta T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. You can help improve knowledge of Type One Diabetes help accelerate the discovery and development of new treatments and generate evidence to support policy and insurance coverage changes that can and will help people living with Type One Diabetes. It's completely anonymous. totally safe. Hundred percent HIPAA compliant. T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox. All these links are in your show notes at Juicebox. podcast.com. Alright, Tiffany is about to take off like a rocket. So get ready. But how did you find growing up with diabetes?
Tiffany 23:16
Yeah, so yeah, my mom, he couldn't deal with it. She couldn't handle halfway through. I stayed in hospital until the Friday the next week. And my mom just couldn't deal with it. And I, I was in there the first day, so I'd been an emergency. And then I went up to the ward, and a nurse comes up like in emergency other kind of lab and emergency. But when I was in the ward, I distinctly remember a meal. And it must have been lunch and the nurse comes up. And she says, Well, I've got to give you insurance. And I said to her, really now because I don't like needles. And she says to me, Well, unfortunately, because you've got type one diabetes, you have to have needles before you have anything to eat, you're gonna have to a couple of times a day from now on. You know, it might be once it might be twice because back then there was only I don't even remember what was it called predefine. And something else? I don't know. I can't remember because it was just it wasn't that wasn't what I need to know, there was more important things to know the names of insurance, I just need to know, which was the cloudy one, which one was the clear one, cloudy with long acting, and clear was short acting. But then I didn't make them anyway, I had mixed atod which was a mixture of both of them. Anyway, that's fine.
Scott Benner 24:31
But that's the first time that's the first time someone said it to you like you they were there with your food and the nurse was like, hey, you're gonna get injections every time before you eat from now on and that you hadn't heard that prior to that moment?
Tiffany 24:43
No, no, because I'm they might be they must have given me an injection in emergency because otherwise I would have ended up I'm assuming like going back now and reading other people's stories. I should have ended up in ICU but I didn't. So obviously I wasn't in DK or I Was that they dealt with it differently back in 1991? I've got no idea.
Scott Benner 25:04
No, of course not. Yeah. I mean, who knows how why what happens happens, right?
Tiffany 25:08
Yeah, that I was on after after I left the hospital anyway, I was on mix the tide and I took two injections a day. But at this thinking conversation with the nurse and she's comes up. You've got to have an instrument before you can eight. And I'm like hell no. And she's like, well, I've got to do it too. Yeah. And I said, Okay, I said, you do your deal. I said, you can do this one. And then next one, I'm doing myself because you are not touching me ever again with a needle? And that was it.
Scott Benner 25:37
You wanted it in your control? Yes,
Tiffany 25:39
yes. And that was I took control of the needle. And because I knew if I did it, I could do it the way I liked. And no one else would hurt me with a needle.
Scott Benner 25:49
I think that's a that's a sound, that sound idea and, and psychologically makes a lot of sense to like, you know, if somebody is going to do this, it needs to be me. I'll figure out a way to do it. It'll be best for me. And that way, nobody else can screw up and make it hurt. No.
Tiffany 26:04
Um, but yeah. And yeah, if I was in hospital for a week, and my mom would come in every day, he mother taking care of that he must have taken time off work, because I do know that she came in during the day. And she come in, and he'd always burst that bawling. And then one time, the nurse comes up and says, okay, so you'd met your mom needs to learn how to give you injections. And I'm like, no way.
Scott Benner 26:26
Listen, that lady to a point where she's not crying before we give her the needle, right?
Tiffany 26:32
He probably wasn't crying by the end, but he was just, he just was traumatized by the whole event. And so my mom's just like, Okay, I've got to do this. And I'm like, he's not touching me with a needle. And they talked me into it. And I'm just like, You know why? Because I, I was terrified. I would if I had to have bloods taken, I would look away. I'd stare at the wall and I'd sing songs to myself, I'd make up stories in my head, because I don't like even now, when I go to pathology. I just, I can't watch I look at the wall. I take my phone, I play by my phone while I do it, because I just don't want to see someone else sticking a needle in me. Because you
Scott Benner 27:09
don't have that reaction. Even now, like as an adult when you're doing it, though.
Tiffany 27:13
You know it but I'm fine. Because it's me doing it. So I know exactly. And I've got to look at what I'm doing. But other people Oh, even on TV. I can't handle watching other people. One person give another person an injection, but I can watch someone give themselves an injection. That's fine. Okay, that's interesting.
Scott Benner 27:28
No, right. Really is interesting. All right. So like, do you are you still injecting now or how do you handle like getting your insulin today?
Tiffany 27:37
Oh, yeah, I was I was injecting up until, um, my I was pregnant with my second, my little boy. And so I got my pump. Or he, I must have been four or five months pregnant with him. So I've had I've been pumping for two and a half years, maybe nearly three.
Scott Benner 27:56
That's crazy. So you injected for over 25 years? Yeah, I did. Yeah. And how did you? What about glucose monitors? Do you guys I know you? Yeah. You have one? Do you have it?
Tiffany 28:07
We thought Yep, we've got all different ones. We've got the same ones. As you guys have. We actually got the lab right before you guys did. So that's pretty cool. I saw that. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 28:15
And you use what are you using?
Tiffany 28:18
I'm currently using I use a Medtronic pump. I've got the 640 or as you guys call it a 630. Okay. And I use the the meter that goes with it, which is a con context contour next link. Excellent.
Scott Benner 28:35
Okay. Yeah. And how do you like I mean, you're it's interesting because you did you did injection actually, you're really good person to talk about with us. So talk to about this because you injected for a really long time. Would you call your time injecting like successful for your health? You were pretty you were doing well.
Tiffany 28:53
Yeah. So before I fell pregnant with my first I was taking taking taking Lantus and Nova rapid. And on my, my, my hike bi one C was 5.9. No objections. Yeah, so I was pretty good. And I'd also just done a course called Daphne. I think you guys I'm sure you guys have it over there. It's dose judgment phenomena. That dose adjustment for normal eating. And, as in Australia is called audacity because we're in AWS, obviously. But it's the same thing. And it's a course that was developed in Germany, by doctors who saw the need to help diabetics to understand how to adjust their own each one rather than having to wait three months for every doctor's visit, to help their doctor to help them adjust the internet again. It's like how we came up with this practice and you used it really successfully. Can you describe it a little bit Yeah, so it's just, um, you know, knowing how to carb count correctly, it's a five day course. So you learn, like how to carb count correctly, you do seek day management. All the meals are provided while you do the course. And you just come into the air of the way you're doing the course every day. And they have snacks and meals. And I have regular food. I don't have like, you know, sugar free. It's like, you know, we have Tim Tams. And we've got, yes, Tim Tams. We've got, you know, jelly snakes, and anything you want to eat,
Scott Benner 30:34
biscuits, all different kinds of biscuits, but everything's got a carb count on it. So that we have to figure out how to do it without the assistance of the diabetes educator and the dietician who are running the course. Well, so people were so kind of frozen in the idea that I will live my life for these three months. And then any adjustments that have to be made to my insulin, or the way I'm managing things doesn't happen until I get back to the doctor again. And this and this was the idea of No, you could do this, you could make these adjustments on your own.
Tiffany 31:05
Yeah, well, I was already kind of doing it. But I didn't do it. I was obviously I was doing it really successfully. Because before I did all that mean, my fault, my height, Bo and C was also 5.9. I did it probably six months before I fell pregnant. Um, and I so I'd been doing that I hadn't been very successful job because I would have like major hypose and stuff, but never anything where I went unconscious, except like many years before that. But I did kind of like look at things and go, that doesn't look like you know, two portions that looks like it could be like a bit more or a bit less. And so I'd have a bit more a bit within keulen. That's and you have to
Scott Benner 31:44
I think personally, I mean, obviously you listen to the podcast, I think you have to make your adjustments like that. By the way Phil fell pregnant is such a wonderful phrase. Because here you might say that you fell ill but like that the idea of fell is like, you know, you've been overwhelmed by something unpleasant. And to say like, fell pregnant. It's just it delights me to no end. I really am.
Tiffany 32:10
Okay, I became pregnant.
Scott Benner 32:13
I just please, I'm not I'm not correcting you. I'm telling you. You're making me happy. I just every time you say it, I'm like that's I also enjoy. What is that? Something like you guys talk about going to the hospital. But you don't say go to the hospital. You say?
Tiffany 32:29
No. Yeah.
Scott Benner 32:29
Yeah. Isn't that funny? You don't even know what you say. It's hilarious. Oh, anyway, fell pregnant. You've just made my whole day as I'm saying. So you're five nine. You're doing fantastic. You What made you take the course by the way, even though you were five nine? Did you just think I could do better at this or did something they made you do?
Tiffany 32:46
Um, because well, I before I did the Daphne course I had been I had the same the same endocrinologist. So the same endo for from the time I was diagnosed for 20 years. And then just before my 20 year anniversary, he says to me, oh, by the way, I'm going to move to Queensland. And you're going to be saying my ofada you've been because I sees our solder occasionally. And then he just popped in. He's gonna say this other guy called Adam. And I'm just like, wow. And so I had to make an appointment for a new guy. And back then as well I lived with, I'd have to drive 40 minutes to go see my doctor. And there were other doctors who were closer to me and I just thought you know what, stop him. I'm gonna find a new endo. But I never did. So I was just going to the GP I'd get new skin get prescriptions for more in killin the doctor might occasionally get me to do a high DPI one C and that would be and so I just got a walk in clinic and do it that way. So I didn't have an endo for about four years. And then I was in Melbourne by that point. And I moved to moved up the top end of that the top of Victoria to bend a little town called vanilla, which is the wind grad where I currently live. And I get there and I thought I need to find a doctor surgery and I found one and I go there and the donor GP says to me, Oh, you've got type one. He says okay, you can go see this guy called Robert. He's German, but he's really nice. And I'm like, okay, so I say Robert, and he's not actually a an endo. He's called a diabetes specialist because in Germany, every single doctor I don't know this is what I've heard. So I'm just I'm just is he sighs so it could be true could not I don't know. But apparently allegedly, every single doctor in Germany has to do an entire class two semester course unit or whatever on type one diabetes. So the Germans they've got something gone You know, they think and type one diabetes. We've got to do something about this obviously because I came up with a with some that me and you They decided, you know, we've got we've got to learn about type one diabetes. So they've got something going on there. And I go see him and he fantastic thing, and this is this guy's really good. And he says to me, you've got to do this course. And I'm like, do I have to do it? Because
Unknown Speaker 35:17
I feel like I'm doing all right.
Tiffany 35:20
It's fantastic. He says, but this call seriously how, like, you actually you actually know the carbs that you're eating? And I'm like, Yeah, kinda like the last time I saw a dietitian was probably like, I don't know, 10 years ago, but you know, whatever. And off I go to, to do this course. And that was like a turning point. I'm like, I have to understand how to look at a recipe. And like, I love biking. So now I get a recipe and I can figure out the carb count, I can divide it up and know exactly how many carbs in every single portion of like a slice or cupcakes or a cake. But just by weighing it now and I never used to do that uses go. I Yeah, that looks like you know, it could be 50 grams of carbs. But you know, whatever. Just, you know, just winging it.
Scott Benner 36:07
Have you actually with Daphne, have you actually improved on your five? Nine?
Tiffany 36:13
No, I haven't, say five nights really
Scott Benner 36:15
good. Like, I don't know how you're doing better than five nine. But But. But it gives you more comfort. Like you feel more kind of in control. You're not guessing you feel like that?
Tiffany 36:26
Yes, it gives me and then because I need the cause I was like, Huh, cuz I said I'm terrified of needles. So the pump freaked me out because I didn't want to have a needle inside me all the time. That's like, the only reason I was against getting a pump for so long. And get in on, you know, cruising along. And Mike Beyonce went up to bat was because I was pregnant, as I said, so it's 5.9. And then it went up. Because when you're pregnant, things happen. And things get harder to many Jen. I ended up at like, 6.2 by the time he was born.
Scott Benner 37:04
Well, it's not that's not a terrible I mean, that's not a terrible increase during a pregnancy for sure.
Unknown Speaker 37:09
Yeah, are they?
Scott Benner 37:11
So let me say something I cuz I'm gonna forget, because I am so just delighted, like listening to you. Like, I feel like this should just be your podcast, and I should just sit here. But I, but there's this one thing you brought up that I think bears like going over. So this happens to Arden a lot. You know, she used to obviously, she's had type one since she was two. And she'd go in and get her blood draws. And you know, she never flinched. And then one day, I don't know, she was like, eight, nine years old. And she was just up in the corner of the room, like, you know, like a cat trying to avoid water. And and, you know, trying to get away from the nurse who was like Arden, I don't understand what's going on. Like I've been drawing your blood for, you know, close to a decade like what what just happened, she just suddenly couldn't bring yourself to hold still for it. And she's gotten better over the years. But any time that comes up, even if it's at the dentist, you know, where I'm like look, Arden's going to be difficult to get numb, because she really does not like the needles, then the person will say, and this is I find this infuriating, and I try really hard to like educate them, like nicely away from it. They're like, but she has diabetes, she must be used to this. And I was like, why do you think getting stuck more makes a person who doesn't want to get stuck? Like just forget about that? You don't really forget about it because you do it more. Like if I said to you like there's I watch boxing some guys don't apparently mind if they get hit in the face, you hit me in the face once I'm very upset. And if you hit me in the face 50 times, I'm not going to be less upset by it. It's just a very strange idea to say to someone, but you should be used to this. And and so you have diabetes, you're not allowed to have a needle phobia, you're not allowed that, like that's just such an odd way of looking at it. And I think that does happen to a lot of people, they get that like, well, you're you have diabetes, so obviously you should just be okay with this. And you're not, you know, like it's just you're not, but it's it's really interesting about the pump idea that what you didn't like about a pump? was the idea that something would be inside of you constantly. How did you get over that?
Tiffany 39:21
I heard this thing called the eye port. Um, and I and also the Libra came out. So I I ordered a library online and it arrived and I put it on and it was like, I didn't like the sand that might because it goes could funk. The little sort of thing you got to use. And I didn't like that noise. So that was part of the problem with the pump as well because I knew you had to insert and using the little third thing is like good I don't have that noise. Anyway, I put the Libra on. I was like this is amazing. I like to sleep writing. So I'm looking I'm looking around like scanning myself constantly looking at my little meetup going. This is amazing. Oh lobby, why do not do this alien? I'm like, hang on, if I can do this, then that means maybe I can do a pump.
Scott Benner 40:07
And that's what that was your bridge to it then.
Tiffany 40:10
Yeah. And then I got this thing called an iPod because Medtronic do like free samples. Have you heard what an either an iPod on a human you
Scott Benner 40:18
know that you can inject without putting the needle in, right? Like it's this it's a port it's a port that you use, then you inject into the port instead of into your skin every time.
Tiffany 40:26
Yeah, so that was kind of like so I did the Brian in like, my date, my, my, What's the name? My diabetes guy, Rob. Rob, he says to me, sorry, I'm, I've just gone blank for a second. Then he says to me, I'm okay. Robert. He says, okay, Tiff. So, why don't you see how you go with this? And I'm like, okay, so he said, go visit my da next door. And so I go see her. He's also a type one diabetic. And she, she talks to me a little bit about it. And I'm just like, I'm terrified of the noise. And she's like, that's okay. She said, Oh, I'll show you how I'll do this one. And then you've got another one in the box. And you can do that later on if you want at home. So I put it he put in for me. And I didn't like the I 40 it was horrendous. It really irritated me. I just couldn't handle it. And then I figured out I don't like putting fights on my tummy. So that because that's where I put it. So I'm like, okay, that's that's a no go down. But anyway, and then I put the second one in. And I'm like, wasn't so bad. So I organized in Australia as well, you could have private health insurance to get pumps. So I organized by private health insurance. And my next visit. I said, Okay, yep, I'm ready to do this. And I said, oh, by the way, I'm also pregnant.
Unknown Speaker 41:45
I fell pregnant.
Tiffany 41:50
Completely didn't want to but anyway, they're only 17 months apart. I'm not planning anyway.
Scott Benner 41:58
I just won't let your children ever listen to this. I bet that's fine. What What happened? I we're gonna take a detour for a second. When did you go to a wedding and drink too much but what happened? Exactly like how did you stop defending your uterus from this falling into pregnancy?
Tiffany 42:19
I kid you forget you Don't you think it's like you? You know your tablet?
Scott Benner 42:27
It's that boy. Swear to God. I don't know what we're talking about. I'm having a great time.
Tiffany 42:32
And I'm, I'm very fertile, obviously. Because I yeah, I just I, before I had my first child, I had a miscarriage. And that didn't take very, very much effort. Either.
Unknown Speaker 42:44
Way to hold on the pregnancy or the miscarriage. What didn't take very much effort.
Tiffany 42:48
getting pregnant, getting pregnant in general.
Unknown Speaker 42:52
That's wonderful. You're wonderful. I'm so happy we're doing this.
Unknown Speaker 42:57
Hold on a second. I have to pull myself together. Give me
Scott Benner 43:01
Okay. All right. We're good. My favorite part so far is that Rob was German but it's okay. He's nice.
Tiffany 43:12
Oh, my JP was also Indian. He was amazing. And then he went and moved to bloody Melbourne did meet with family with him. So
Scott Benner 43:18
I love this guy tried to upgrade his life with no concern for you whatsoever.
Tiffany 43:23
It was like the best jPi ever had, because he he didn't try to try to take my diabetes away from him. You know, tell me that. You know, I'm silly because I'm doing this and that because what most of the JPEGs I ever saw did and yet anyway, he moved away.
Scott Benner 43:36
Yeah, but he gave you real freedom and and, and respect right. Not not freedom because he left you alone. But but like freedom and respect with your type one like he Yeah, yeah. I think that's it. That's really important. So yeah, so first curse him for leaving. Let's hope he felt he falls on something. Right?
Tiffany 43:57
Yeah. Anyway,
Scott Benner 43:58
anyway. Is your how involved or not involved? I want to get back you know what, hold on. Where do I want to go with this? I here's what here's what I'm gonna go with this. You're really interesting with like, I don't want it on my stomach. I don't like the way it clicks. I don't want to do that. Like that's real. That's sort of different stuff than you hear people talk about all the time. Do you have do you have that with other things? Like Are there other things in your life that like you don't like the way they feel or don't like they like when I go clothes shopping? If you watch me walk through a place with clothing. I'm touching everything constantly. Because if I don't like the way it feels, I wouldn't even care what it looked like.
Tiffany 44:40
Yeah, yeah. Yep, definitely. Yeah, that's me.
Scott Benner 44:42
Yeah. Have a little bit of that tactile thing going on. Because Because a port on your stomach's not okay, but you can put it somewhere else.
Unknown Speaker 44:49
Mm hmm. Yes. Okay. Interesting.
Scott Benner 44:52
You are very quirky. I like that. That's excellent. And but I think it's important to talk about because I don't think that for the people who that affects, I don't I think we talked about that quite enough, right? Like, yeah, that there's this great technology. But what if it just is in your head all the time where you can't take the clicking or the or the other stuff that comes with it, but you have been able to kind of overcome everything you found a way around most of your roadblocks, right?
Tiffany 45:18
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Scott Benner 45:20
And so would you tell other people to press on? Would you tell them to follow their heart? Like, where when something bothers them just give up? Or what do you think? What do you think ended up being the, I don't know the right path for you?
Tiffany 45:35
Well, it's more of a matter of just, you know, looking around, and just seeing what your options are like. So it took me 25 years, and then the Libra to go, I can do this thing now. Like, before, then it was it terrified the hell out of me. Um, and then yeah, the Libra was the turning point. It's just a matter of just, you know, seeing what's happening, keeping up with what's what's going on with the diabetes industry, the map for the companies that manage what we have to do what we can do to ourselves, and how we can manage our diabetes better. And they just might come up with something and you go, that's it. That's what's gonna help me to, you know, get control of my diabetes. Like, I don't think I've actually experienced burnout. Like I look back and I'm like, is that when I was in high school, I kind of went in whatever. But I still took my insulin and never stopped because I remembered what it felt like to constantly be thirsty, and to just feel disgusting all the time, from when I was 11. And I was just like, I don't want to do that again. That's interesting. I want to feel disgusting. And I've always had glasses. And I'm like, I don't want my eyesight to suffer. Because I can't say enough as it is like, I can drive. But if my eyesight gets worse, then I can't drive. I don't want to not Dr. Right, you might not be able to see.
Scott Benner 46:51
Yeah, I think that what you what I just took out of what you just said was that when you knew what it was like to feel, well, you knew what it was like to feel sick. And you were just trying to avoid feeling sick again, where I think that there's a possibility that when we diagnose young kids now and tell people like oh, it's okay, if your blood sugar's like 220 or, you know, 300 spikes fine. You are teaching that person's body to be to feel normal at that range. And there and that's, you know, that can be dangerous in itself to give you a normal feeling at a 250 blood sugar. Yeah, you know, is is a recipe for like a long term disaster really. So
Tiffany 47:31
yeah, yeah. Because I remember as a teenager having like my, my endo, he was quite old. Well, I thought he was old. Because he was bald.
He probably wasn't that
Scott Benner 47:44
old when you're a child. I agree with that. Yeah, that's fine. That's absolutely fine.
Tiffany 47:49
And he he would we would have arguments when I was in high school about my about what I was doing and how I was managing and stuff. And I remember like storming out of his office like this is asked my mom to stop coming. Like I didn't even know I my mother kept coming. Because, you know, she had no say in what was going on, because she didn't want to be involved. But she would always come to doctor's appointments. Anyway, so we would have arguments as soon as she stopped coming, it was like, This is my, this is my job. Now my mom is not here. That means I can tell him often I can tell him that he's been silly. And he's telling me that, you know, what he wants me to do is impossible. And like, you know, my HPA once they would be like in the sevens and he'd be like, you can do better than this. And I'm like, Look, this is what I've got to work with. If I can't do it with this, then I can't do it. Okay, I'm doing the best I can. Right.
Scott Benner 48:37
And by the way, did you notice my mom is not any help whatsoever? And so you know, I'm so I'm interested, if you've ever had a conversation with your mom about this, do you have any idea why she was disconnected from it? Or why she couldn't kind of dive in? Or did she? Did she fall asleep smoking in the fire? And you don't know, right? More? I don't know.
Tiffany 48:58
I've never actually spoken to her about it. But I just, I don't want to because when she asked me like he's he's got type two now he was diagnosed few years ago. And he says to me, also has the diabetes going and I'm like, good. He says, if you had any hypose and I'm like, I'm I'm thinking in my head Well, yeah, I had one yesterday but I'm not going to tell you that because you're going to freak out and I decide to are not so good. You know, I'm just you know, cruising along because if I tell her I've had a hypo even if it's only like, you know, a 3.9 or you know, like it just I'm just like 33.1 we should probably be like on I 55 5055 or so yeah. Yeah, he'd be like, oh my god you like I you I kind of like, you know, this is this happens man.
Scott Benner 49:45
You know what I'm trying to figure out because when we look at your like tactile stuff, like I don't like the way it sounds. I don't like the way it looks right. Because imagine like you said, I can't watch someone else. give someone else a needle, even on television, which by the way TIFF is regular Because you're not, right, because you're not actually there. And it's not really happening. And it's all fake and everything. But but because it gives you that feeling. My question is, I wonder if your mom doesn't have something similar? And I wonder if right if watching it happened to you didn't put her into a tailspin the way it does when you're watching an old rerun of er on Netflix. And so that's what I'm trying to. That's what I wonder. And please, I don't want you to, you know, I'm sure your mother's an older person. Now, you don't need to have an argument with her. But I was really interested to know if maybe that wasn't it, right. Maybe she didn't have her own kind of like issues and that was something she couldn't overcome. It's interesting.
Tiffany 50:39
Yeah, it is. It is actually that I've never thought of that, that that that does actually make sense. why he's so like, Yeah, he did. He was so disinterested in the whole thing. And oh, my goodness, the blood test machine when I was first diagnosed, yeah.
Scott Benner 50:55
Yeah, because TIF because by your explanation, she wasn't disinterested, and she's still not disinterested now because she's worried for you. You haven't? Yeah. Have you TIF like, how's the diabetes? You haven't been low? Have you? I'm worried that you're okay. So yeah, I mean, I've heard Listen, I've interviewed people who have we've outright set it sometimes. And sometimes it's gone unsaid rifle. Ooh, your parents just didn't care. And like, where they were just like, huh? Well, that's for you to worry about. Not me. Like that. Kind of. Yeah. Your mom wasn't there. Like she tried to come to the appointments. Right? Yeah. And, and she still cares now. I mean, how old is she now?
Tiffany 51:31
Um,
Scott Benner 51:35
she's still asking. She's asking you. So I think this is a I think if we dig down that's what's going on here. Does your dad have any going on? Does he Yeah, my
Tiffany 51:45
dad's cool. He he says to me, How you going with everything outside? Oh, yeah. So like I can I can be more open with my diabetes and with my dad because he's pleased with like, you know, these things happen. Whereas my mom's always about the, the other stuff. Just like my mom or dad, you know, like if I yeah, mom's mom's like, you know, if I had a car accident, maybe like, Oh, my God, the car and my dad to be like you okay? The car? Yeah. Yeah. Like you have to be like, you know, if you got your insurance up to date. What's that? My my
Scott Benner 52:17
mom, my arms falling off. Yes, yes. But have we told Allstate?
Unknown Speaker 52:22
Exactly, exactly. That's wonderful.
Scott Benner 52:24
Well, I think that I was just speaking, you know, it's so funny. I was just speaking about a mother's love yesterday on a phone call within Australia. It wasn't for this podcast, Australia would just be a place on a map to me. But instead it's not because this podcast is incredibly popular in Australia. So so I'm on the phone with a an Australian who lives in America. And we're talking about something. And we were talking about, like kind of the anxiety she was feeling around her kids blood sugar. So I was like, see that's like that moms. That's a that's that thing that's so wonderful. And yet sometimes it won't shut off. Like a mother's love like, right, like, like, you know, like, it's wonderful. Because there and it's so present even throughout your life. As you get older, your mom still feels that way about you. But at the same time, there's always this line where they don't seem to be able to like stop sometimes. And I was telling her that we were we had gone this past weekend, a few states away to watch my son play baseball. And it was the end. He's in college, but it was the day before a holiday. So he said can I just come home for the night. And then I'll go back to school the next day. And we thought that was great. We hadn't been around. He hadn't slept in the house in months. And we're like, that'd be wonderful. So you know, the kid poor kid gets up at 6am gets on a bus takes a two hour bus ride plays two baseball games, think gets in our car and is taking a two hour ride home. And he falls asleep. And his head is tilted to the side. And my wife says in the backseat, you know and she goes his head. And I'm like Kelly, he's 19 he's a strong as an ox, like he's fine like you like they just leave him there. He's asleep and he looks fine. And he's fine. Well, 15 minutes later, I see your hand come up from the backseat. I'm like, What are you doing? I'm trying to drive. Just his head can't stay like this. I'm like, Kelly, he's fine. Leave him alone. Right? But she couldn't have she could not overcome the feeling that that kid was uncomfortable. Like, yeah, you know? And so she starts nudging his head up and he wakes up he's like, what's what's happening? And I looked at her I went I told you to leave him alone. And so but there's something about I'm not kidding. Like I think there's something connected from women probably straight from your you know, straight from the moment you have them inside you until apparently till the very very end of their life for a lot of moms. She couldn't see him be uncomfortable. And I was like, He's fine. She she could and she's a bright person. It's not like she was confused by it. She just couldn't overwhelm that. So I'm interested very much in what was so powerful in your mom's had that she couldn't overwhelm To come help you with your diabetes, and I bet you it was something pretty strong. So that's Yeah, yeah, I could be 100% wrong. I'm just the guy on a podcast so I might be 100% wrong, but it seems that way as we're talking about.
Tiffany 55:12
Yeah, now he's he's very he Yeah, he's loving and stuff and he does he does worry a lot. Since I've also like, you know, the only blood like being a child by blood that she's
Scott Benner 55:26
gonna hold on to you. Yeah, your dad still just a guy she met like you're Yeah, you're her family right now. I understand. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 55:32
exactly.
Scott Benner 55:36
Okay, so overall in, in Australia, what is it like? Like you have private insurance, which I'm still even through a number of episodes trying to understand a little bit. But but yet things don't cost a ton of money, though, right?
Tiffany 55:52
No, it's pretty good. We've got this game code ndss National Diabetes service game, and it's, it's funded by the government through taxes, and we pay quite a substantial amount less for supplies. And then if you've also got health care card, so if you're on a low income, or you or you're under certain age, you also get a discount an extra discount again on top. But that's nothing to do with private health. private health is only needed for pumps. But cgms full cost no matter what, except they've just changed government funding again for CGM. And now people who are women who are in preconception for six months, they can get CGM for free. women who are pregnant can get CGM for free. And when they're breastfeeding up until the baby is six months old from the due date for free j for it's free CGM and I can get anyone they want. Libra is still not on the cards though. I don't know why but everything else is subsidized. Now. Also if children are under 21 years old, they get free CGM. And anyone who is hyper went away This is only new, this whole this pregnancy one and the hyper one awareness. So if you're hyper aware, you have to have a healthcare card. But your hypo unawareness has to be very severe. And you have to had been hospitalized within the last 12 months. And you will also receive free funding CGM. Gotcha. So
Scott Benner 57:39
I think it sounds to me if I can have if I can have it six months, you call it preconception, which was fantastic. So six months before you're pregnant, right? Plus the nine months you're pregnant, six months, you're breastfeeding. If you just have a baby every 21 months, you can have CGM for free for the rest of your life.
Tiffany 57:57
Exactly. Yeah. But you've got you've got to be a woman that's gonna be thing like there are lots of men who are very upset about this. Now, the aim is that everyone gets sick in funding. But my issue like I could, up until they change, the legislature changed the legislation again, I was actually eligible to get free CGM, because I'm a low income earner. And I have had episodes I look but I haven't been hospitalized. I have episodes where I've been. I've been had a bad hypo. But that was last one was when I was pregnant with my first Hello was and she's three now. So I haven't been hospitalized. I've had an ambulance cold out. But I haven't been hospitalized because of a hypo. Which means I'm no longer eligible. What My issue is, I would like it if they could say instead of people getting free CGM, if everyone, anyone who wants can get a CGM at like half price or a quarter price, because that's how we do medications. Like it's not fair for one one Pacific group to get it for free. Why don't we all just get everyone just pays a little bit if everyone pays a little bit, then everyone the funding goes further. And everyone benefits rather than just these tiny little groups,
Scott Benner 59:12
right? Yeah, I listen that I look at college the way colleges paid for an American I think the same thing, like how can my son be in a class with a kid who's paying, you know, a few thousand dollars a year to go to the same school that other people are paying 10s of thousands of dollars? Like what if we all just kind of like found the middle ground, you know, exactly right. And that really would be valuable and especially for medical stuff. To say that you have to be sickly to get something that could be used preventatively Yeah, it just thinks you don't even you know,
Tiffany 59:45
yep, with with the this whole new hype, I want to win this thing and having to be hospitalized. This makes a lot of people there's quite a few people who have written on Facebook groups about the fact that this means that people are going to run Specifically low, get low, so they can pick you have to have a hospital visit before they're gonna run low. They're gonna get the ambulance come to their house, they're going to go to hospital. So they're gonna cause more strain in the healthcare system. And then free CGM because they want to say free CGM. That's it,
Scott Benner 1:00:16
and that stents gonna go wrong for somebody and somebody is gonna end up hurt. And exactly, yep, you're putting people in a very weird position.
Tiffany 1:00:23
And I also read a fantastic comment. It said, it's like bolting the doors to the table after the horse is left. And I'm like, that's, that's a really good analogy, because, like, wouldn't it be better off because like, my partner, he works away, half awake. And so I'm basically a single mom at home with two children by myself. Yeah. And it freaks me out like I've got, I can get a CGM occasionally when I can afford it, but most of the time, I'm just running off doing bgl. I don't have the CGM. Yeah. So it freaks me out that one day, my two and three year olds who have no idea how to use my phone, because I don't like them using it. And I don't want to teach them, you know, screentime stuff that they need to use my phone to play with games, you know, and they're gonna come, they're gonna wake up and come into my bedroom, and mommy's not gonna be white.
Scott Benner 1:01:14
And then they're not gonna know what to do and
Tiffany 1:01:16
fix me up, of course, and then because my partner at home, like, my parents live three hours away, they leave back in Melbourne, which is three hours from wangaratta. And they're not going to know, Nick not gonna know, because he's at work, like in an hour and a half away in New South Wales. Um, which is a sight above Victoria. And I'm going to be at home with these two children, and no one knows. And it freaks the hell out of me. So I'm hoping I've got a dog. I've got an appointment, say my, my D in a couple of weeks, and I'm thinking, oh, maybe, maybe just maybe they can like wrangle the paperwork so that I can just get it when I have to.
Unknown Speaker 1:01:53
Yeah, it's, I want to
Tiffany 1:01:54
do that thing. The other reason I do not want it, I would rather not have a CGM, because I don't like having the SAT to me. I think they're bulky. But you know, it's fantastic work. As I said, earlier, I was in hospital last week. And I, my friend who just had a baby, she's breastfeeding, I messaged her, and I said, I need your help, can you please help me and she came around to my place. And she gave me three of shgs because she got them for free. cuz she's breastfeeding shoes. And I'm like, I only wanted one. I didn't want three. And he's like to take him, okay. He says, Don't worry, he forgot them for six months, you can have a couple I doesn't bother me. Like, you are a lifesaver.
Scott Benner 1:02:32
And that's wonderful for to do. And at the same time, it does illustrate like this weird dance that that these rules push people into having, you know, she's breastfeeding. So she gets some so she gives some to you because you're scared. And you can't get them because you haven't had a hypo that put you in the hospital. But at some point she's going to run out. And then you know, it's just, I don't know, the idea of medical insurance. Everywhere I hear the conversation. It's just very fun. Yeah.
Tiffany 1:03:02
And anyway, but my da, she's really cool. She just had it. And we've got an election coming up soon. And she just spoke to the local federal Member of Parliament who's up for who's up for a nomination. And he said, This is what I want to do. And he just he told you what I just did about having everyone pay a smaller cost, a smaller cost amount. And then everyone can benefit rather than just having these tiny groups that don't necessarily like it's not, it's going to benefit them, but wouldn't be better if everyone had a little bit. Right.
Scott Benner 1:03:33
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and no, and I understand there are going to always be people who can't afford it at all, and that's fine. But there's, you know, listen, free is nice, but if you even could throw in 20 or $50 towards it, and that would keep somebody like you from having to pay like you know, 75% could get you down to 50%. Like there's got to be a way where everybody sort of shoulders the burden a little bit,
Tiffany 1:03:58
I think come back and get subscriptions. But I think a box of a one box of five in light sensors from Medtronic is $250. But I might be wrong. No, it's more. It's more because the libri senses off $95 Ah, Australian over here. And the actually know what, I'll look it up. I'll go to the Medtronic website. Give me a second. Look it up. Yeah, it's ridiculous. If everyone just pays a little bit we'd all be better off.
Scott Benner 1:04:35
Yeah, as much as you can. Right? Like, I mean, until it's not a burden and so that everybody's covered it's just at some point they're going to stop treating this technology like it's a nice to have and they're gonna realize that for the people who want it it's it's imperative.
Tiffany 1:04:51
Yeah, but my baby for $350 for one book. Oh
Unknown Speaker 1:04:56
my gosh.
Scott Benner 1:04:59
Yeah. It's ridiculous. I'm like, you know, just make it benefit, everyone gets benefit everyone rather than just going, Hey, you know, if you're under 18, if you're under 21, and then hang on, you know what, when you turn 21, you don't have Type One Diabetes anymore, because you don't need a gym. So you know, we're just going to take them away from you, goodbye, once you go to go to, you know, college, university, whatever. Until very recently in America, people like on Medicare would lose, you know, would lose it when they needed it most when they hit like 65 years old, like we really start needing this stuff like really badly, then they're like, Oh, you can't have it anymore. Because you switched insurances, you went from like your private to this, but they've gotten that finally figured out, but it's just such an interesting idea that, you know, certain ages need it more than others. Like, it just doesn't, it doesn't make any sense to be perfect NIH,
Tiffany 1:05:46
NIH, and like the people who are retired like this, you still got type one diabetes, when you retire, like it doesn't go away? How the hell am I gonna afford to pay $375 for one box of fences? Like even the subscriptions like the subscriptions are significantly discounted, but I still end up paying like $250 every four weeks coming out of your bank account
Scott Benner 1:06:07
out of money? Yeah, no, it's a lot of money, even in Australia, where all you really have to pay for is like snake venom, and, like repellent and stuff like that. And, you know, whatever it is, I mean, whatever it is, you keep your like, grass hut, like clean with like, so. I know. That's not what your life is like. But anyway, like, we are up on an hour, I am going to resist the urge to to go back and let's do exactly how you described your cousin brother. And used you kind of Oh, no, no, but you were fantastic. I really appreciate you doing this. And I know how hard it was for us to get this together and and do this, but I appreciate that you stayed steadfast. And we got to this point, I really am. Okay, I was really excited to have you on and i think i think i was right.
Tiffany 1:06:57
I can always do it again. Cuz like I've got more stories I've got when I went to America and Europe back in 2007. And my each one got stolen in New York.
Scott Benner 1:07:06
And wait. And then during the during the, during the theft. The person who stolen from you pulled out a knife and you said that's not a knife. This is a knife. You pulled out a larger knife. And then what happened after that?
Tiffany 1:07:20
Oh, no, I didn't even realize until like the next day because I was too buggered.
Unknown Speaker 1:07:26
Wait a minute, you were drunk when you
Tiffany 1:07:28
lost insulin. I know I was buggered. I was tired. I've been on a flight. However many hours
time zones and all that stuff. Yeah.
Scott Benner 1:07:42
Somebody just lifted it off of you. Alright, we're gonna find out this one thing. Hold on. So you're, you get to America. And of course, someone steals from you immediately. Yeah. And but
Tiffany 1:07:55
the funny thing was that I went to I went to America, I was doing a summer camp in what's it called Code Camp salaat. I'm, like, now forgotten what the name of what was called. Anyway, it's almost like the border of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, somewhere around that area anyway, late to there. So like something or I can't, like stop what I think the cat like that was the area. And the camp I was that was called B'nai brith pillman camp, which is a Jewish camp. Anyway, so I had to go to America, I go to LA to do my training for a day. Then I get another point. And I go and I fly to get to New York. And then we live in New York. And it's like, midnight, and I get off the bus. And I remember picking up my little bag, my little, my little refrigerated bag that had my insulin in it out of the box. And I went inside to the to the reception area to book to get my room. And that's the last time I remember having my little bag. I can't remember what happened to it after that. So it's possible you lost it and you're telling me this. It's possible.
Scott Benner 1:09:02
It definitely started because
Tiffany 1:09:04
as soon as I realized I went down to the reception area, and I said, Did you see this bag and I described it and I get in like I had a picture of it. I gave him the picture. And they're like, No, we didn't see it. I was like, Oh my god, did
Scott Benner 1:09:19
you replace your How did you replace your insulin being here?
Tiffany 1:09:23
I rang up my insurance company. And they don't replace they replace the cost in Australian dollars, not American dollars. And of course, I bought them. They cost me $35 for a box, five boxes of five pins for 25 pins. But I had I must have got a couple of scripts because I had more than that. Yeah, so I had Yeah, was in 2006. Um, I was 27 back then, um, wow. 12 years those in America. Um, I had I must have had two scripts. So I had like $70 worth of insurance. And that's what I replaced. And my I had done medical leave padlets I had to take as well at the time, which I still do take for blood pressure, like stupid. I, anyway, they replaced the cost of that. And that was easy and obvious, like how the hell am I gonna pay for more insurance in America, and I, my insurance company, I was on the team on the phone with my insurance company trying to figure it out. They wouldn't help me. And so I ended up having to, like ration how much I would eat, and be very, like, that would have been like the worst control of my life. I was away for like five months. Well, um, and I had to, I had to buy syringes. That's the other thing Australia, we get syringes supplied for free, any kind of that we have to pay fingerprints. But apart from that, like, we don't we get, we get in. And pump supplies, you do have to pay for all your consumables for the pump, but we don't have to pay we don't have to pay for for needle tips. And we don't have to pay for syringes.
Scott Benner 1:11:04
Yeah, some stuffs covered and some stuff
Tiffany 1:11:06
to buy a box of syringes. And I was just like, this is gonna kill me. Luckily, like at the camp though, there was a doctor, because we had a, it was a big camp. So obviously, there's an infirmary and the doctor and stuff. And the doctor, I didn't have to pay and say, doctor because the doctor was there. So he gave me a prescription for insulin. And I take a day off work and go to the chemist and I bawled my eyes out like that whole day, it was horrible, just trying to figure out like how I was going to pay for this stuff. And figuring out I needed, I couldn't buy pens anymore, I cut to get disposable syringes, and I had to get vials of each one because it was cheaper than buying pens. Well, I think that that Oh,
Unknown Speaker 1:11:51
yeah, really
Scott Benner 1:11:52
highlights just the stress and the pressure that people with type one feel when they can't afford whatever it is they can't afford that they need for their health. It's a very omnipresent feeling. That just is it's overwhelming, you know, like this, the thing that keeps me alive, and now I suddenly can't afford it, and nobody's helping. And what do I do? And you know,
Tiffany 1:12:14
I like, luckily, like, because I had a really good job before I left and I quit my job because they said they would only hold my position for three months. And I'm like, but I'm gonna be gone for five months, I'm going to America and I'm going to Europe. I'm going to go to New Zealand before I come home, and they're like, Oh, nice, sorry. And I'm like, Well, if you're not going to hold the position for me, I said, Well, I don't want to work for you guys anymore. So I quit. And
Unknown Speaker 1:12:36
I'm like,
Tiffany 1:12:38
Yes, I had all this money like so I bought I got a credit card. And luckily, I got the credit card before I went to America, and you know, pay for my trip and everything. And I had money to fall back on for when I came home. That money ended up being used to buy insurance in America. And so I didn't really have much spending money. So I spent the whole trip like feeling so sorry for myself and having to go to TJ Maxx and like, you know, I want to actually like have something nice that I want to bring back souvenirs,
Scott Benner 1:13:06
right? Not just what you could get for the max for the minimum right, which is Yeah, I understand you're saying no. Oh my gosh. All right. This is it. I have to go you've exhausted me. Actually, I actually do have to go but I really appreciate this and let me just say goodbye. And I'm gonna starting the recording back up real quick because I'm gonna do Arden's lunch Bolus, Wallah Tiffany's on with me, so. Alright, so Arden a little while ago was like, I'm gonna go get a bagel with a friend of mine at school, so I think they split a bagel. I've never seen the bagel before. I did. I did my love
Unknown Speaker 1:13:47
bagel. I love
Scott Benner 1:13:48
bagel like bread, right? And so she's like, she's 179 right now. And I've got her coming back down. We've been bolusing trying to you know, we missed on the bagel bolus, the initial one. Yeah. And we've been bolusing trying to get it back down. So but now we're getting ready for lunch. So now she's got to go to lunch. So we're gonna reset attempt bazel increase of 95% for
Tiffany 1:14:14
we don't have bagels in Australia and nowhere near as good as the bagels I had in New York. And when I had a camp Oh my god, they were amazing with lox, and cream cheese.
Scott Benner 1:14:23
We Yeah, I don't I don't understand how anyone, once they've had a bagel or bread near New York City, goes anywhere else and doesn't hold on a second.
Tiffany 1:14:35
It was anything about New York City with the bagels. I don't like New York City. It's not my favorite place at all. I could think of I would rather go to Pennsylvania and go to Philadelphia. I like Philadelphia,
Scott Benner 1:14:45
Philly. Yeah, that's a good place. Let's see. I'm going to do a 12 unit bolus extended 50%. Now and the rest over an hour, I have a lot of insulin going. So I'm trying to figure out how I can try to figure out how Not to mess this up basically.
Tiffany 1:15:01
Sorry, I'm distracting you from Well, you're
Scott Benner 1:15:03
not I could do this in my sleep. But your pandologic No, no, it's wait. So let's go over everything. First of all, if you're not from the east coast, you've never been to the east coast, whatever. Someone's giving you a breakfast and calling a bagel is not a bagel, and I'm sorry for you. The pizza crust you get is not good. And anything really that's like bread or flour you're being lied to by the people who are giving it to. There's a pizza place in New York City that also has a location in Florida. And they truck water from New York to Florida just to make the dough.
Tiffany 1:15:38
Oh, wow, that's insane. How cool
Scott Benner 1:15:41
are truck full of water drives from New York to Florida. And that's how they make decent pizza in Florida. Wow. And the rest of you? I don't know what you're doing Pizza Hut or something.
Tiffany 1:15:53
If I go to Florida to go, then you could go to Disney World. I am not going to eat pizza there. I would rather eat it in New York.
Scott Benner 1:16:00
Yes. I mean, you might find someone who can figure out how to make it. But the odds are, it's just a pale reproduction of something and just yeah, nearly as good at a bagel once in Indian apalis. Yes, I was getting ready to get on a plane in Indianapolis and I was leaving my hotel and they're like here, we're going to work July. I said, Well, I'd like to eat light because I'm getting on a plane. And they gave me this bagel. And I started eating and I said Can I just get some fruit instead? And she's like, you don't like the bagel? And I said, oh you poor dear. This is not a bagel. I don't even know what this is. You know, I was like, but this is terrible. And please stop eating this. Get on the plane with me. I said you flew into where I'm going. got off the plane in the terminal. But a terminal like a like an airport bagel. It would be the best bagel you ever had to get back on the plane to fly back to Indianapolis. Anyway. Tip Thank you so much. We're all good. I got Ardennes Bolus, and we did a Temp Basal increase 95% for an hour we Bolus 12 units extended did 50% now and 50% over another hour. And I think this is gonna do it. So well. We'll say Good work. Thank you. I'm now going to go get on with the rest of my life and you're gonna go to bed because it is now 120 in the morning where you're at. Is that correct?
Tiffany 1:17:19
Yes, that is correct. Yep.
Scott Benner 1:17:20
Thank you very much for staying up so late to do this. I really
Tiffany 1:17:23
thank you. It wasn't good. It was good. having a chat. Thanks for comfort finally happened after all the stumbles we had,
Scott Benner 1:17:30
seriously might have taken a year to get you on here. So thanks again. I'm gonna say goodbye privately real quick. Hey, hold on till the very end. I have an update email here from Tiffany if you're interested, but it'll be after everything that's coming right now. Huge thanks to me for not doing any bad Australian accents during this episode. And to Dexcom on the pod and T one D exchange for sponsoring this episode. Please go to my Omni pod.com Ford slash juice box to get your free no obligation demo of the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump sent directly to you and learn more about the dexcom g six continuous glucose monitor. I genuinely think that it is at the core of every decision I make. And that you would really love to know more about the dexcom g six dexcom.com Ford slash juice box. You too can help with Type One Diabetes Research while supporting the podcast. You can do a great thing for people living with type one and support your favorite podcast. I'm assuming this is your favorite podcast. Let's just let me believe that it is okay. Anyway, T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox. You need to be a US citizen. answer a couple of quick questions make sure you're eligible. As soon as that happens, there's a seven minutes It took me to answer the questions they wanted. There was nothing insanely private. It was about like what insulin do you use? You know what what shape are you when when you were diagnosed stuff like that this information they use to do all kinds of great things in the world. As a matter of fact, some things that you don't realize happened in the world. Medicare covering CGM, that that came from this research, certain test trips being covered by insurance companies that came from here. So they're changing how insurance covers supplies. They're changing how you know, entities see technology. There's a lot going on here. It's a tiniest bit from you. And it has huge and wonderful ripples throughout the world with Type One Diabetes. I did it as a matter of fact, on the first day that my link became available 100 people did it. But that he Wendy exchange needs thousands. So if you can take the time, it really will just take a couple of minutes you can do it right from your cell phone or a computer. The interface is very clean and easy to use. It's nothing about it as a is cumbersome at all. If you can take that time. I think a lot of goodwill come from it. So that's pretty much it. I hope you give it a shot, T one d exchange.org. forward slash juicebox. Alright, just from editing this, I feel the same kind of rush I got when I was talking to tip. She was just amazing. I hope you had a good time today. I'll be back next week with more of the Juicebox Podcast. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. Thank you for telling other people about the show and supporting the sponsors and all the great stuff that you guys do. Seriously. Oh, don't forget to there's like 10 more days left, you can enter the giveaway, celebrating 2 million downloads of the Juicebox Podcast go to juice box. There's nothing to do by the way you just enter you don't have to do anything to enter Juicebox podcast.com. Up at the top it says 2 million. Click on it. There's some talky talk there for me a list of the swag from the giveaway Juicebox Podcast sweatshirt on the pod t shirts, Lily's chocolate gift pack 30 minute consultation with Jenny Smith CDE for free, tons of Dexcom swag tons of touch by type on swag. And it looks like there's just about those close to 2000 entries. So I mean, there's nothing to do he just click on the thing to enter. And that's it. Not keeping your name not keeping your email address. I don't get anything out of this. I'm just trying to give some stuff away and say Hey, thanks for downloading the show and sharing it with people. So if you want to take a shot at some of that, goodness, head over there now Juicebox podcast.com 2 million, little clicky clicky. At the top of the screen, there's a whole bunch of links up there actually. Diabetes pro tip link. The best endocrinologist link is the juice box docs. There's lists of the episodes. Oh, there's a link here to the free pie. Free par The free private Facebook group. Why did it take me three times to say private that was weird signs and symptoms of type one diabetes. Oh, the new BG conversion chart for those of you overseas, right. And I've got something exciting coming soon to go with that conversion chart, but it's not quite ready yet. Anyway, so pretty damn nice podcast. And I think the blog that associates itself to it is also pretty well done. If I do have to say so myself, which I'm gonna have to because there's no one else here. And no one else gives us. Except for me, because I put all this work into making it anyway. Goodbye. Hello. I almost forgot the email. Wait one second. She's home. Sorry.
Tiffany, Tiffany wrote, hey, Scott loving listening to all the stories from everyone you have on the show. I was just wondering if there was a scheduled date for my recording to go out. Tiffany, you're delightful. This by the way is back in March. It's August. Now Tiffany recorded this in January. And it took us a year so it's gonna take about two years for Tiffany to get on the podcast and total but anyway. Oh, there's been some updates to the CGM subsidy in Australia on first March 2020. It was updated to now include those who have access to those receiving assisted benefits from the government for low income pensioners. Low income and slash pensioners um
Unknown Speaker 1:23:17
Why am I being texted?
Scott Benner 1:23:21
People leave me alone. I'm trying to do something here. Oh, geez. Now I have to start over March 1. Updates now include those who have access to wait, what is Tiffany? What are you trying to Tiffany reading you is like talking to you. It's absolutely delightful. March 1 2020. It was updated to now include people who have access to those receiving assisted benefits. Alright, Tiffany, Elizabeth here. It seems like it seems like people who receive assisted benefits assistance benefits from the government in Australia for low income people or people on pensions. She says this means since I'm a stay at home parent, I can now access it too. Oh, she's excited happy dance. I just received her email to she just received an email today telling her the application was successful. And now she just has to wait for the CD to train her. She's going to be using Dexcom g five. Also g six has passed and should hopefully be available mid year in Australia. Okay. I hope you all got that. I'm now exhausted. Tiffany I love you. I I think I want to start a podcast. It's just me and you. We're not even gonna talk about anything. We're just gonna talk. I'm now really leaving for real. This is over. Goodbye.
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